RTÉ News has learned of two cases involving nursing homes where doctors are very concerned over delays in Covid-19 test results and how this is affecting families and services.
In the first case, involving a nursing home resident, where a swab was taken on 23 March, the resident died last night in the nursing home.
Her doctor said that as a test result had not yet come through, positive or negative, the resident will now have to be treated as a positive case, by the funeral home, with strict precautions as set out in recent guidelines.
The doctor told RTÉ News this adds to the upset already felt by families affected by Covid-19 at a time of bereavement. In a second case, also in a nursing home, the swab was taken on 24 March.